On The Thorns Of Which We Live
by JkayChase
Summary: "No.  I'm not a chimera.I don't know what I am."  My eyes left his piercing gaze.  Then, my eyes shot to his, meeting his with an intended fierceness."Please understand.  I am not going back there.  Ever.  I intend to live out my life outside of a cage."
1. Chapter 1

The cool rain pelted my face relentlessly. But I took in the sights and smells gratefully. I lingered on the sweet smell of grass, the open-ness of the road before me. The sunlight streaming through the crying clouds was so beautiful. I hadn't been outside in so long. I sighed and wrapped the beige cloak around my slim form tighter. I didn't have much time. How many people had died to turn me from what I was into what I am? The thought made me sick to my stomach. It's not like I asked to be this way.

But they'd be after me. As sure as the rain pelting my face, they'd be after me. Because I was a successful experiment. I spat on the dirt road, and then began moving. To walk freely with no walls! What a wonderful experience. The air was wonderfully laced with the scent of the rain and trees. I could laugh. But I had to move faster. Once they figured out I was no longer in the city called Central, they would search the countryside for me. I tensed my muscles, and then sprang into a run, heading towards the next nearest city scent. I ran in leaps and bounds, far faster than any normal..human. If I could even be considered human anymore-which I was sure I couldn't. But still…I loosened the knots around my neck and turned off the road, heading down a ditch into the forest. I fumbled for a moment, not quite remembering how to put my feet when descending a slope. I swung around a tree and concentrated.

My hips and knees cracked loudly as they snapped into different positions. I jumped at the sound, my differently shaped hips causing my jump up to become a jump forward, slamming my head into the tree in front of me. _Smooth. _

I rubbed my now pounding head, glad no one else had seen my idiocy. I shook my head at myself, rebutting the urge to laugh. I focused once again on the critter I wanted to err..turn into. Yea. Weird, huh? They were originally going to use me as a weapon in war, but then we were moved underground, and the plans changed. I had been on stock to be sold to another country-but I escaped before they could take me.

My tail, swinging under the cloak, shortened and broadened. It was the only glitch-I couldn't turn back into my human form without having SOMETHING remaining from the animal form I had changed into before-usually a tail. I grimaced as my fingers sucked back into themselves and my nails compressed and turned into black, stubby dog nails. How gross. My palms widened and grew pads, while my feet did the same. I toppled over onto all fours, feeling my spine force itself into a different shape, and my skull began to pull and squeeze terrible, forming itself into a wolfish face. Mind you, I was still bald, and very much begging in my head for fur. A half mutated dog with no fur is NOT a pretty sight. My eyeballs were squeezed, becoming smaller. My eyesight dimmed and the world lost color-how annoying. My nose became wet and black, pulling between my eyes, changing shape. And then-finally. The fur. White, bushy fur prickled up my arms, back, now thickened and elongated neck, face, legs, belly, and paws.

I was a dog. A rather large, stark white German Shepard if you wanted to be exact. The beige cloak sprawled across my body was an oddity, but I had chosen a form big enough that it wouldn't drag on the ground or hinder me. I stood there for a moment, feeling the outdoor world for the first time ever in another form. I wonder what it would be like to fly. Or swim up a river. If I had a human's mouth then, I would have grinned. Instead, my tail began to flop back and forth. I let out a deep, joyful bark, and sprang forward, pushing powerfully with my hindquarters. Catching myself on my forepaws, the momentum keeping me going forward, my hind legs finding the ground once again and pushing off-how exhilarating! Faster and faster I ran, barking, stopping every so often to smell an odd smell, but mostly running. The squirrels darted up into their trees as I sped past, startled birds barely having time to take off before I was upon them, barking.

The sound of an engine rang in the distance, driving up the road I was running beside. It was enough of a reminder. Though I was hidden, I retreated farther back into the woods, ceasing barking. The car passed before I realized how close I was to town. My stomach rumbled. And no matter what shape I was in, my stomach was my stomach. I kept standing and concentrated. Fur rippled back into skin and the 'hospital' gown. Bones cracked and twisted. My sharp fangs became dull, human teeth. My senses of hearing and smell faded, color and sharpness returned to my vision. My back curved, hips widened slightly. My long, deep red hair fell to my waist-they didn't exactly give us haircuts. Or let us bath. Gross. But my hair was my own. I loved how striking the color was-my father had always told me never to dye it. This human form was mine as well-it was the one I had been born in. I was sixteen years old-not a day older than I had been when they had kidnapped me. My skin was tan. My eyes were my pride-I loved the way they were a striking sky blue on top that faded to green on the bottom. My frame was slender-almost unhealthily so. They never did give us decent food in that shithole.

I stood up, wrapping the cloak tightly around me, bringing the hood up to cover my rose colored hair. The darn dog tail wrapped under my bum, telling me just exactly how nervous I was going into a city. But I had to. I had no money-I would have to pickpocket SOMEONE. I had no money, and I needed food and something to drink. A bath and bed would be really nice too, but hey, wasn't expecting too much. Clothes, too. I had to buy new clothes-my current ones were a bit too..obvious. Actually, maybe I could-

I reached down for the dirt, my finger fumbling for a moment before remembering the drawing. What was my cloak made out of? Cotton. What about my hospital gown? Extremely thin cotton. I ripped off the iron wristband that stated my number; 246. My cloak reached down towards my ankles, so there was plenty of material. Giving a final glance around, making sure I was alone, I stripped, putting the clothing on the circle I had inscribed on the dirt, as well as the iron wristband. Now, one last thing. What exactly did I want? Oh!

Concentrating, I grew fangs and bit my finger. The poke was painful, but brief. I let the red droplets fall onto the clothing-color. I'd rather not go around without color. And with the chemicals that caused both the colors red and blue in my blood, it was rather perfect. My teeth once again became dull in my mouth.

I formed a picture in my mind of what I wanted. Setting my hands on the transmutation circle, I watched the dirt drawing glow brightly, the cloth twisting shape within the light. In a few seconds, it was over. Grinning, I stepped back and admired my work. How in the world could I have forgotten-even if it HAD been five years since I had been captured? How in the world could I have forgotten, even for a moment, that I could do alchemy? Or alchehistory, rather.

My handiwork had paid off. A full outfit, including undergarments, lay out before me. Jean shorts-just because I didn't have enough materials to make full out jeans- rested peacefully on the dirt. They were light blue and even had pockets. A tank top with swirls of red on a white background rested cutely above the shorts, while the under-garments lay below it all. Finally, to the side, a sleeveless hooded light blue jacket lay. How cool. It had been a while since I had worn actual clothes. Regrettably, there hadn't been the materials to make a pair of shoes.

Smiling, I dressed, loving the strange familiarity of real clothes. For the first time in a while, I actually felt like a girl, rather than a mutant (except for the tail that is. But I could hide that). The remainder of the materials lay in strips on one side of the transmutation circle. After pulling my tank top on, I grabbed a strip of beige cotton and held it with my teeth, combing through my disgustingly greasy hair. I bound it together with the cotton strip, shrugging into the light blue jacket. Alright. All was ready to go.

I looked up, towards the houses just a few hundred meters away. Who knows? Maybe I could swipe a couple of coins, and then make a million of them, and never have to worry about money during this escapade of mine. I could even get a dog! I always wanted one.

Grinning, I made my way there, climbing out of the forest and onto the road again.

The rain had stopped.

"Hey, have you heard of the Elric brothers?"

"Yea! The Full Metal Alchemist is called the Alchemist of the people. He goes around helping people."

I sipped on my fruit flavored drink, thoroughly enjoying it as the two guys beside me jabbered on. My tail, unfortunately, was painfully pinned under my bum where I sat to hide it under my long sweater.

"Hey sir!" I called, grabbing the middle aged waiter's attention. His blue eyes drifted over to me, and his mouth smiled warmly under his white caterpillar mustache.

"Yes little lady?"

"Can I get another drink? And while you're at it, add another sandwich onto my tab."'

The guy grinned.

"Aren't you the hungry one. If you don't mind me asking, where are you from? We get a lot of visitors, but none that look quite like you."

I smiled. "I'm from a town not too far from here. On vacation, actually. I was wondering if you knew a place I could stay tonight," I continued on smoothly. He seemed taken aback.

"Where's your parents?"

I froze for a second, and then my brain started working again.

"Oh, I'm older than I look. Twenty-one, to be exact."

The guy immediately changed his approach.

"Well then, if you want, you can stay at my place tonight. It's rather cozy, if you know what I mean-

"No thanks." I glared at him. Pervert. I hadn't even washed my hair in months. What kind of a sicko was he?

He wasn't convinced. He stood there, quiet, but smoothed his hair out.

"Just get me my food."

"Very well, miss."

Still, way too suggestive. He came back with my sandwich and my drink. Immediately, I could smell alcohol in the drink. If I hadn't been convinced before, I was convinced now. I dug into my pocket and brought out a handful of coins. Threw them on the receipt and walked away with a bad taste in my mouth.

The sun was setting and I still hadn't found a place to stay at. My hair and skin were begging for a bath, and I had really been looking forward to a bed. But yet-the more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn't WANT to sleep inside, anyways. I had slept inside a windowless room in a cage for the past five years.

Most of the people had gone inside their homes. Stores were pretty much closed. The sun was setting, illuminating the sky in beautiful hues of red, pink, purple, and blue. And the air-fresh air. It was something wonderfully sweet. I took a deep breath in the dying light. Smiled.

At the very least, I could find a source of water and some soap. I ducked into an alleyway, glancing around to make sure no one was in sight. I focused, allowing only one finger to change. The skin prickled, bumps popping up like goose-bumps, the skin turning bright orange. The fingernail was pushed forward uncomfortably, fading to black, becoming curved and wicked looking. Satisfied, I dug the eagle talon into the hard dirt, using it to draw. The transmutation circle done, I de-morphed my finger back into human form, and put my hands over it. Light filled the alleyway, and when it faded, a pile of coins were in the center of the circle. I grabbed the coins and wiped away the circle.

"Little late to be doing illegal transmutation, isn't it?"

Shit.

I rose, meeting the eyes of a blonde haired boy in a red coat. His scent filled my nose-normal human overlay with a hint of pine, but I also smelled metal. Very aware, I made sure my tail was tucked under my long hoodie.

"Who are you?"

"Edward Elric," he said with a confident air to his tone. Where had I heard that name before? Oh well, doesn't matter. I rose to meet his swagger, straightening my shoulders and eyeing him.

"Well, Edward Elric, I guess you caught me."

I walked towards him, leaning forward.

"Bye."

With that I leapt backwards, launching myself onto the roof of the building on my left. Well, that was that. I heard a scuffling, and then something landed on the roof behind me. One regular foot, the other left a metallic noise as it landed. A fake leg. I leapt into action, extending my stride, quickening my pace. Leaping to the next rooftop-a slanted one. I twisted in the air, landing sideways, my bare feet gripping the shingles, before pushing off cock-eyed and landing on the next rooftop. The Elric boy cursed.

"Are you even human?"

I couldn't answer that. But turning my attention, I heard his breathing and the wind blew his scent my direction. He was still on the rooftop I had escaped from.

"Are you with the military?" I said, very suspiciously.

"Not anymore, but I used to be."

He seemed sad about that statement.

"Then why are you chasing me?"

"Just because I'm not in the military doesn't mean I can't turn you in."

Not good.

"Sorry little guy-but I won't-

"LITTLE? HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A SHRIMP!"

"Huh? I didn't call you a shrimp."

The little blonde guy jumped off the edge of his rooftop, launching himself towards me. There was no way he was going to make it. Incredibly, his hand caught the edge of the rooftop.

"I AM NOT A SHRIMP YOU GREASY HAIRED SHITHEAD!"

He somehow threw his body weight up and over, effectively facing me, his eyes narrowed, teeth grinding against each other, positively growling. All in all, he resembled a small lion in his fury. I backed up.

"Whoa, now. Calm down-" what was his name? "-Edward."

Yea, that was it.

"Edward, calm down-

"HOW DARE YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN YOU-

Obviously, I was going to have to try a different strategy.

"HEY FUCK-TURD, CALM DOWN!"

He paused for a moment, taken a-back.

"Do you know anywhere I could stay the night in this town?" I asked-trying to redirect his attention.

"Well yea, there's this little Inn on the east side of town-

"Good! Thank you!"

With that, I launched myself off of the building and into the street.

"Hey wait a minute!" Edward called.

But of course, I didn't listen. I ran as fast as my legs would allow, the darkness covering my footsteps.

I ate dinner voraciously, digging into the meat and the bread. I had taken the Edward kid's advice and found an Inn in the east side of town. It was a rather cozy one, too. My food was brought to my room, which had a lodge type coziness to it. There was a rug, a desk, a cabinet, a fridge, along with the standard bathroom and bed. All in all, the best I had been in for quite a while. I was SO happy. Surely there couldn't be any harm in staying in this town for a few more days? I downed the last of my milk. My skin and hair had a fresh, fragrant scent to it. I loved it. My hair, after spending 40 minutes washing it and rewashing it, fell softly down to my hips in deep red curls. I felt clean. More like a person, rather than a mutant who lived in a cage.

My white tail stretched out comfortably on the bed I was sitting on, poking through the hole I had custom made when I had transmuted my bath towels into a night-gown. There was no one to see me, so I could comfortably curl under the covers and read the book I had snatched up from the lobby's bookshelf. It was one of my quirks that hadn't faded or changed-I loved reading. I left my empty plate on the desk, lifted my legs onto the bed, twisting my hips so I didn't sit on my tail. Let out a breath, allowing myself to completely relax.

"FOUND YA!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Sat on my tail, yelped rather doggishly, and then scrambled to hide it, wrapping the blankets of the bed around my sides. Turned towards the smug blonde boy with a snarl.

"What the HELL. Stop stalking me!"

"Wha? I am NOT stalking you! Who'd wanna stalk YOU, anyways? Turn yourself in!"

"It's none of your business! Leave me alone!"

Edward growled, grabbing my arm.

"Not until you turn yourself in!" He growled, putting emphasis on each syllable.

"Why the hell do you care? I don't even know you, wacko! I'm just trying to enjoy a nice night-

"Using money you illegally transmuted?"

I sighed, standing, pinning my tail against my back, ripping my arm out of his hand.

"Yes, SHORTY. Using money I ILLEGALLY transmuted. You happy? I had no choice. It's not like a person like me can afford to get a job! Now GET OUT of my room!" I growled, slapping my hands together in frustration. A flash of light, and my bed caved in. When my attention re-focused, I saw that the metal from the bed had extended, slamming Edward against the door. My eyes widened. I didn't mean for it to go that far. Wait-how did I….?

I slapped my hands together again, and touched my bed. The metal hand retracted, and Edward slumped to the floor. I ran over to the blonde haired boy-from his scent he didn't seem to be bleeding, but the blood was close under the skin-he'd get a nasty bruise.

"Are you alright? Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to-

"You. Why do you have a tail? Are you a chimera?" he asked, grabbing my arm. My eyes widened.

_I raised my head weakly, my arms sore from the shots the mad scientists had given me. Through the bars of my cage, I could now smell the people outside._

_ "So what is this new experiment? Is it a chimera, or a hummunculus?"_

_ I could sense the pride running off of the scientist. Sickening._

_ "Neither. It's a whole new creature. It'll revolutionize the way we fight and live."_

_It? I was just an it. No longer a girl at all, was I?_

"No. I'm not a chimera. I…I don't know what I am." My eyes left his piercing gaze. Then, my eyes shot to his, meeting his with an intended fierceness.

"Please understand. I am not going back there. Ever. I intend to live out my life outside of a cage, the way I want to live."

He sighed, wisdom far greater than his youth showing in his eyes.

"I understand. You know, I have a few friends you may be able to relate to. Why don't you come on back with me? At the very least, you can stop transmuting money."

I eyed him suspiciously. But his eyes and his scent were honest.

"Fine."

Smiling, he stood up. Offered me a hand, which I took.

"Alright then. Let's get going."

Plaintively, I walked to the bed and sat on it, folding my arms stubbornly.

"Not yet! I paid for the night here fair and square! I'm gonna take it."

"Transmuting money is NOT fair and square!"

"What's your point?"

He sighed.

"Alright then. We'll leave off in the morning."

He lay down on the rug. My eyes narrowed.

"GET YOUR OWN ROOM!"


	2. The Rose

"Hey! So you're finally ready! You know, you still haven't told me your name yet."

I yawned, now fully dressed, my hair in a binder. I had had the best sleep I could remember-sleeping on a bed was way better than leaning against the bars of a cage.

"Hey, you listening? I'd like you to tell me your name."

He sure was cheerful. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear he was trying to hit on me.

"Hmm. Well, to be honest, I don't know my name. Back in the lab, I was usually referred to as 'it'."

His eyes grew solemn.

"It? They referred to you as 'it'?" he positively growled at this.

"Well yea. After all, I was one of their experiments."

"Did they ever let you out?"

"Yea, to train. They originally wanted me as some sort of weapon. Hey, can we get breakfast?"

His expression was too serious for so early in the morning. Too serious for a kid. He immediately cheered up at the mention of food. Typical guy.

"Hey-do you have any brothers or sisters?"

This turned on a grin.

"Yea! My brother Al. He's quite a character! And good in a scrap, too-we've traveled all across the country together."

"Al, huh. Sounds like a cool brother. If he and you traveled together a lot, why aren't you traveling together now?" I asked, moving our conversation towards the door.

"Oh, Al's back at home. I just came here to pick up something for Winry."

"Winry?" I questioned. Girlfriend?

"My mechanic."

"Oh, for your leg?"

He looked at me, his eyes widened in surprise. I opened the door and passed through, the sensations of the morning blinding me for a second. The smell in the air, the sounds of the birds passing through. And most of all, the light of the rising sun. It was perfect. Beautiful. Alright, back to business.

"Come on now, it's not that hard to figure it out. Your legs make two different sounds." I said, grinning easily. That and I could smell the metal, but I wasn't going to tell _him _that. Edward smirked.

"You're pretty sharp. Who taught you alchemy?"

"Hmm? Alchemy? I don't use Alchemy. I use Alchehestry."

His eyes widened.

"You what?"

I tensed. Quiet footsteps echoed around the corner. My tail bristled under the bottom of my hoodie. I leapt around, sniffing the air. Six men that smelled strongly of lab chemicals. They had found me. I threw my hoodie to Edward-it would only get in the way. He caught it out of reflex, and I could see the seriousness in his eyes. He had obviously been in this kind of situation before. Still. I clapped my hands together, slapped the ground, drew out four knives. Held them up for Ed-I wouldn't need them.

"Take them, and run."

He grasped the knives. "Like hell. What's after you?"

My enhanced hearing picked up the clicking sound of a tranquilizer gun being readied.

"No time to explain. Just do it." I launched myself at the figures in the alleyway. A tranquilizer dart was shot out-I dodged it and kept going forward. In this case, it was better to make an initiative. I didn't have to kill them, but I sure as hell had to make it clear that they would have to send nothing short of an army to bring me back. The next tranquilizer dart that shot towards me. Snatched it out of the air. Leapt. I could see them clearly now-though they weren't wearing lab coats, their stench was un-mistakable.

Planted the dart into the side of one man's neck. He dropped immediately. Yikes. I had to be careful of that stuff. Dodged another dart-just barely.

"You know, you guys are annoying." I said, knocking one gun out of one of the guy's hands. Threw it far, far out of his reach. Two more guns to go. Someone grabbed my foot-I jumped up, landing on my hands, flipping over, wrenching my leg free, bringing my weight down on the remaining guns. They fell to the ground, the remaining darts deploying under my feet. One of the darts hit one of the people in the ankle. That person dropped to the ground.

"Hey! Don't you think you should pick on someone your own-

A flash of a red cloak.

"-SIZE!" With that, Ed brought down a fist on the side of one of the guy's necks. He dropped like a rock. Three down, three to go. But the other three were backing away. I glared at them, concentrating and morphing my teeth into canines. Just for fun, I growled at them. Their faces went paler, eyes went wide, and they went scrambling. It was…a moment halfway between sad and funny. Funny because of the looks the grown men had across their faces. Sad because it made a part of me feel like a monster. I de-morphed my teeth, turning to face Edward.

"You idiot! I told you to run! Those guys are seriously dangerous! Those darts can kill a normal human!" I exclaimed. Which brought me back to attention-going around I plucked the darts out of the two men, examining the liquid meter. From the looks of it, they had only had a small amount injected. But still. I clapped my hands together-this particular method sure was cooler and faster than drawing circles-and shoved my hands on the ground. A large, cement sign rose up from the ground, clearly labeling-HOSPITAL PICK THESE PEOPLE UP!

"-besides, you're just a little girl!"

I twitched my eyebrow.

"Excuse me? Shrimp, you better not be sexist."

"Who the hell are you calling SHRIMP?"

I stuck my tongue out.

"A shrimp is a shrimp is YOU!"

"Damn you!"

I looked up. Sure enough, a commotion had started. Even early in the morning, the loud noise made from forcing a huge piece of concrete was bound to draw attention. I grabbed Edward's arm, lunging forward into a run.

"So where are we going for breakfast?"

"Don't think this puts you off the hook for calling me a shrimp!"

I couldn't resist.

"A shrimp is what a shrimp is."

"DAMN IT! SHUT UP!"

Whatever. I sniffed the air. Ha! Food! Enough food to be a restaurant!

"Come on! Hurry up!" I urged-I felt like I was dragging him.

"I'm already running as fast as I can!"

Wait. I stopped dead, tail drooping, jerking Edward back. He looked back with a puzzled look.

"Hey-what's wrong?"

"Edward-where did you put my hoodie?"

He scratched his head. "I guess I left it back where we left those guys."

I turned to him mournfully.

"I can't go eat with my tail sticking out like this."

My stomach growled loudly, reminding me just how hungry I was.

"Hey, no problem-we can go back and get it, that's all-" He waved his hands, an awkward, nervous expression carved onto his face. Obviously, he had no experience with emotional drama.

"I _can't_. People will see me."

A strange, resigned look crossed his face.

"Alright, fine. I'll go get it. Just wait here for me." With that, he headed back down the alleyway.

I really did have to do something about that tail-at least change it into something easier to hide. Spotting a trash can, I walked over and hid behind it. I closed my eyes and began to concentrate. Black fur rippled up my arms and legs to spread out all throughout my body. My hips once again cracked as they changed shape, and my knees bent backwards. My feet became small paws, as well as my hands. I found myself unable to stand-my spine changed shape and became more flexible. My vision blurred, ans then sharpened, the world in a blue-ish tint. My ears slid up the sides of my head-becoming catlike. And finally, I began to shrink. It was like falling off of a sky-scraper, only my feet were firmly planted on the ground. Seeing my tail become more flexible and in return, more hide-able, I began to de-morph. I grew once again. Fur retracted, hips changed shape and became bigger. Paws changed to hands and feet. With concentration, I morphed my clothes back into existence.

The whole process had taken about five minutes, but it had completely wiped my body of the early morning zing. I panted, finding myself sweating as though I had just run a marathon. Changing from one form to the other without a break was really hard work. But, it had been worth it. My white, inflexible dog tail had now changed into a long, human sized black cat tail. It was rather pretty, really. I brought it to my focus, deciding next time I was going to try a leopard tail.

"Hey! You still here?"

"Yea! Ed I'm over here!" I beckoned. The blonde boy ran over to me, grinning, placing my light blue hoodie in my arms.

"Found it!"

I grinned.

"Thanks Ed!"

"You know, we really gotta figure out a name for you. It'll be better than screaming across the street 'hey you' all the time, you know?"

I looked up towards the clouds.

"A name, huh?" I murmured.

"You know, I did used to have a name, now that I think about it." I said, turning to Edward. He grinned.

"Alright then, what is it?"

I wracked my brain. The experiments had really messed up my memory.

"Amy."


	3. Blackened Leaves

"Ed, how did you lose your leg?" I asked, chomping into my eggs and bacon. Orange juice topped it all off for breakfast-man, this really beat the gruel they fed us at the lab. He stiffened.

"Now, come on-no secrets, hey?"

"If we're going for no secrets, then you should tell me how your dog tail suddenly turned into a cat tail."

I leaned back. The kid was sharp.

"Hmm. Point taken. However, that's one of _my _deep dark secrets, and will be much harder to-

"You can change shapes, can't you? You're a hummunculus."

The eyes looking at me were cold. Distant. It scared me.

"No. Nice guess, but no. I'm not a hummunculus. I was human once." I said.

"Hummunculi can start out as humans just as easily."

This was really getting annoying.

"Kid, I'm not a hummunculus, nor am I a chimera."

"How do I know if you're lying?"

I stopped. Looked down at the table. The day was getting blearier by the second.

"They never actually gave me a label. They had a new experiment in mind, but never told me what it was. Look, I'd rather not go into detail. I don't really want to relive that. What's important now is that whatever I am, I'm free."

"Free huh. How old are you? You look my age, but you could be centuries older."

I smiled grimly.

"You sure know how to charm a girl at breakfast," I said sarcastically. Edward's gaze wasn't deterred. I sighed.

"I think I'm in my twenties. When they grabbed me for experimenting, I was only sixteen. I think that would make me twenty one or twenty two. Somewhere around that."

Edward scratched his head.

"Hmm. Are you sure you don't have a marking of some sort? A tattoo somewhere."

_Shit. _

"No, I don't. Sorry."

With that, I downed my orange juice, delighting in the flavor. Through the glass, I glanced at Edward's plate.

"You haven't touched your food. Eat up."

He didn't respond, only twiddling his fork in his food.

"Hey! You!" I said, clapping my hands in front of his face. "Wake up Eddie-chan."

His head shot up, glaring at me. Apparently I had gotten his attention.

"What did you call me?"

"Eddie-Chan. Cute, isn't it?"

"Why…you…" there was a growl in his voice. As if he could scare me.

"Come on, Eddie-Chan, start eating your food," I teased, my voice squeezed as though I was talking to a baby.

"QUIT CALLING ME THAT!"

"Why?"

"BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE IT! IT MAKES ME FEEL….makes me feel…

I cocked my head. "Makes you feel..?"

"SMALL. DAMNIT there! I said it. It…makes me feel small." He ended the sentence barely above a whisper. Defeat draped over his shoulders, his head hung low.

"Hey Ed-if you're not going to eat that…" I reached over and stabbed my fork into a piece of his ham.

"I will. And _you're _paying."

Immediately, as expected, he perked up cheerfully.

"LIKE HELL! Give me that!" He slapped my fork away and grabbed his own, shoveling food into his mouth while glaring at me. It only took him a couple minutes to shovel the entire plateful into his stomach. And he managed to do that without getting a stomach-ache somehow. . Guys.

"Hey, what about your milk?"

"Damn waiter. I never asked for any milk. And before you try, I'm NOT DRINKING IT."

Amusing. I shrugged.

"Fine by me," I grabbed his milk and chugged it down.

"Mmm. I haven't had milk in quite a while. Alright, let's get going. Where are we going, anyways?" I asked, standing up and readying myself to leave. Edward did the same.

"Home to Risembool. Winry'll have some chores for me to do."

"Oh…well that's boring."

He glared.

"If you don't want to come, just leave!"

"Well aren't you blunt?"

"And you're a jackass!"

"Apparently, so are you."

"Damn you! Just leave already!"

My mood turned sour.

"Fine, then. Have fun on your little trip." I spun on my heel and walked away determinedly. I could hear him start to sputter behind me.

"Wait-I didn't-

"Your train leaves in an hour, right?" I called, glancing over my shoulder. Funny, he suddenly looked like a lost puppy, his eyes wide in disbelief that I was leaving.

"Then you should get going."

I heard him curse behind me. Sheesh, if he wanted me to come, why didn't he just say so? Stupid males and their stupid male pride. Whatever. I kept walking, finally hearing the kid turn and do the same in the opposite direction.

The sun was high in the sky-it must be around noon. What a wonderful feeling-sunlight. I took a deep breath of the air-fresh grass, trees, the smell of concrete and rock-granite, I think, the smell of humans of course, a few dogs and cats here and there, birds, and-chemicals? Ick. I kept walking casually, now paying more attention to my peripheral vision. So the lab rats were still stalking me, were they? And just when I thought they had scampered back into their little holes. Hmm. Movement out of the left corner of my eye-a tall woman in a dark cloak began moving in Ed's direction. I watched further, assessing the situation. She wasn't outright following him-she was following from a distance, ducking around corners. Well, that wouldn't do-but first. I broke into a run, ducking around buildings, shooting into alleyways, all the time going further from Ed. I heard their hard breathing and heavy footsteps-trying to catch up to me. It wouldn't work. And with their noses-the trick that I was going to pull was going to be an easy escape. I spun on my heel when they far enough away, and then bent my knees, launching myself straight up a brick wall. I reached for the gutter's edge-and my fingertips clasped it. I curved my tail and launched my weight up, landing on my feet on top of the slightly slanted roof. I crawled over to the left side's slant and crouched, grinning. Four forms in dark cloaks met together, each had eyes scouting the streets. Geez, could they be any more obvious at all? I focused. Chances are it would be best if I hurried. My nose, lips, tongue, and teeth pulled together disturbingly, forming an awkward beak on a human body.

My bones were strangely pressurized as they became hollow. I focused harder, shutting out everything else. Shrink, damn it, shrink! And my body followed my will, shrinking fast-almost too fast for comfort. The rest of the changes-I tried to focus on everything at once. Pain engulfed my spine and my arms as my spine shrank and my arms changed their bone structure, becoming wings. My cat tail retracted with a torturous jolt and flattened. The pain was-was unbearable. Mind consuming. I had stopped concentrating the moment the pain had started, but the changes kept coming. My feet ripped apart and became talons, some kind of wet liquid leaking from them. As soon as I started panicking, the changes stopped. I couldn't gasp for breath like I wanted to-which was further proof. I was now a bird. But-what was that? I stood there quaking for a few moments. Never had my changes pained me.

Finding my focus again, I spread my wings and tail feathers, almost taking off before realizing that was too obvious. Instead, I kept my beak level, angled my tail feather, and beat at the air. I rose a few feet before awkwardly throwing myself into a swoop towards where Ed went. I kept my belly close to the rooftops, and then when I felt I was far enough away, I angled upward. A nice, convenient draft grabbed my feathers and pulled me along. My sharp sighted eyes expertly scanned the ground-there. Go figure. The doof had found himself in a stand-off already. In the middle of the city, of course. I sped towards them, folding my wings partway to fight the air currents, heading lower.

"What the hell do you want with me, lady?"

Oh, ok. So the party had just started.

"Edward Elric, it seems you were in contact with a young girl earlier. I'm sorry, but you'll have to come with us."

Oh, right. _That _lady. Now I recognized her.

"Sorry, but I don't go anywhere with strangers." Edward said, a hint of cockiness in his voice. Bitch-lady reached into her jacket pocket-I could make out the lumpy outline of a gun. Time to make my entrance. I cocked my tail feathers and raised my wings. Edward's shoulder seemed like a good landing spot. Conveniently, Edward's arms were raised out in front of him in a fighting stance. I landed softly on one of his fore-arms, trying hard not to pierce him with my talons.

"Why hello two-four-six. How kind of you to join us."

I cocked my head.

"Hi shithead." I croaked out with a bird's singsong voice, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. Ed's eyes turned towards me, riddled with disbelief, but yet hinted with a deep knowing. Shithead feigned emotional trama.

"Two-four-six, I'm hurt. You know I'm only looking out for your best interests."

I tweeted out laughter.

"What, you don't believe me? Come along home, sweetheart. Your cage is freshly prepared. Besides…

Her cheerful look turned dark.

"You'll die if you don't."

I stared at her. Her and her stupid blond locks, and her hazel eyes.

"I've heard enough." Edward snapped. I looked down at him. His eyes were cloaked in anger.

"You're not supposed to keep people in cages!"

He launched himself at her unexpectedly-on instinct, I took off, landing on the next nearest light-post. I focused. When my hands formed, I grabbed the post for support, watching on as the skilled fight continued.

"That thing?" The woman was laughing. "That thing isn't a person anymore. Can't even be considered human."

"Shut up!"

Sheesh. We had only known each other for a very short amount of time-who knew the kid could get so attached?

I dropped to the ground, back into my human self again. Ed was knocked backwards-straight into me. Nice. My head hit the ground, hard.

"You know, maybe you people should grow up," I said, bringing my fore-arm up and pushing Edward away with ease.

"Violence isn't always the only way to win." I clapped my hands together, and the ground loudly rumbled, a cement prison shooting up around my former caretaker, formed intentionally like a cage. I turned to Edward. Glared.

"Funny. When I met you, I thought you could take care of yourself." I chastised. It was unfair-I was aware of that. But my irritation at the whole situation knew no bounds.

"I _can_ take care of myself!" he bit back.

"Then you should stop getting into useless fights! You idiot, you run away from these people-you don't start fights with them. Are you nuts?"

"I'm fine on my own! I didn't used to be a state alchemist for nothing, you know!" Obviously, he was frustrated. Once again, I picked up the sound of footsteps.

"Come on, we gotta go," I said, grabbing his fore-arm and leading him away.

"I'm right, you know."

I paused. "What do you want, dingbat?"

She smiled from within the ironic prison I had created for her.

"If you don't come back to the research facility, you won't get your medicine. You won't be able to hold onto one shape, and eventually, you'll just become a huge, disgusting mass of shapeless flesh."

Horror swept through me. I suddenly couldn't find the will to move. I could feel Ed's stare on me. I wasn't…I truly wasn't human anymore, was I? The fear, blinding, powerful fear and shock held its grip on me tightly. It was easy to pretend-being able to hold onto the shape I was originally born with. But truly…I was nothing but a monster.

"Come on." Edward said softly. But there was strength in his voice, and I held onto that as he led me away.


	4. Sharp Prick Of A Thorn

I stared at Edward nervously. He had been my only companion after leaving the lab, and I was afraid of what his real reaction was-after finding out I was truly a monster. Not of my own accord, but it's not like that mattered. A nervous, tense knot squirmed in my stomach as I watched him staring out the window of the train compartment we were in. His eyes betrayed no secrets, the sun colored irises staring out the window-irritatingly enough. His chin was rested on his hand, his elbow rested on the windowsill. A casual posture, but still-the depth in his eyes and the seriousness of his expression betrayed that casual-ness.

"So-are you going to sit there and count unicorn shaped clouds the entire train ride, Ed?" I teased. Something to interrupt his thought pattern-no doubt he was thinking about the people sent to get me, my abilities, and trying to piece together the puzzle. Smart as he was, if I didn't distract him somehow, he'd get it immediately. However, that remark had the desired effect. His eyes tightened, teeth gritted. The deep thinking expression left his face and he turned to me, his expression akin to an angered bull.

"What the hell do you take me for, some kind of kid?" he snapped.

"Of course not, Eddie-Chan." I replied, beaming. The angry tint left his expression, and once again he was deep in thought. Geez this kid was a thinker.

"So tell me something."

I tensed.

"When you were in the lab, did they ever feed you philosophers stones?" His tone was all seriousness. I blinked.

"What are philosopher's stones?"

He didn't reply. Obviously, his wall was up once again. But he was still staring intently, as though trying to force the answers from my eyes. I chose my words carefully.

"They mixed a blue-ish powder in with the food they gave me. At first I tried to starve myself, saying I wouldn't eat it. But after a week of no meals, your instincts tend to take over, and you eat what you can. They never told me what the blue powder was, but I did overhear them talking about how it was a mix of chemicals-a mix meant especially for me, to keep my powers intact." My thoughts raced.

"But I didn't…I didn't think that keeping my powers intact meant…

My throat closed up on me. I looked nervously up at Edward. The kid offered no sort of comfort or empathy-his eyes were hard. I scowled. Stupid me, thinking any human would comfort a creature like me. How odd-thinking of humans as though I wasn't one of them. But how could I call myself one? Humans didn't have leftover feathers hidden among their hair from turning into birds. I combed my hands through my dark red locks even more nervously. I could feel the small, scattered feathers growing from my scalp. Realizing how tensely I was holding my shoulders, I pulled them back, taking a few deep breaths. Imagined a peaceful field. This strategy had once been my only link to sanity. It always worked well. I glanced at Edward once again. He was back to looking out the window. Wordlessly, he reached up and undid the latch, gently putting the window down. The wind blew his scent powerfully at me. Wait…

It was small, but un-mistakable. It was a scent like no other. And it permeated from his right arm. My eyes narrowed.

"What about you?"

His eyes glanced at me for a second, his expression unreadable. But I was used to that kind of expression.

"You keep asking me all these questions. But what's your story? The scent of your right arm tells me it was pulled from the gate. Obviously, there's more to you than you're putting on."

He was visibly tense. I plowed on, no longer caring.

"The scent of your right arm is your own-the limb truly is your own. But the gate's scent still permeates it, more so than the rest of your body. Really, the gate's scent never fades. But the longer someone's there, the more they smell of it. So the only possible conclusion is that your arm was there longer than the rest of you. You're missing a leg. Why bring back your arm without your leg? What caused you to lose the limbs in the first place? And then there's the overall question-you've been at the gate, yet I haven't seen you use alchemy once since I've met you-though there's been plenty of opportunity." I looked at him, waiting for his reaction.

"Brilliant deduction." Edward growled out. The anger in his eyes showed me I had hit the mark. And possibly passed it. Though his eyes, now focused on me, showed me he was on the edge of biting back like a cornered dog, his expression was controlled. Finally, he sighed, and went back to looking out the window. I was slightly disappointed.

"Alright. But if I tell you my story, you have to tell me yours. It's the-

"Law of equivalent exchange?" I said, smiling at the unexpected reply from Ed.

He broke into a grin unexpectedly. "So you do know the rules of our alchemy."

"Alchehestry isn't all that different. Just a different source."

His expression grew serious again.

"I mean it, though. You can transmute without a circle-which means only one thing. Not only did you see the gate, but you went into it, and came back."

Damn it. Now I was the one all serious.

"You know what-I take it back. You can keep your story."

"What? You can't take it back!"

"Oh? And why not?"

"Because I say so, damn it!" He was yelling in my face, fists curled.

"And who are you to tell me? You're nothing but a shrimp!" He was too easy.

"I AM NOT A SHRIMP! SHUT UP!" He stood up, beginning to look like he was going to attack me.

"Gladly. Oh, and by the way, you're attracting a lot of people's attention."

"I don't care!" He ranted.

"That's nice."

Stopped him cold. "Huh? How the hell am I supposed to respond to that?"

"You aren't."

Confusion sprawled itself across his face for a few seconds, then he grit his teeth and sat down harshly.

"Damn you."

"Already done."

"Huh?" He was once again sputtering in confusion.

"Quite obviously, I've already been damned."

His eyes blinked uncomprehendingly for a few seconds. Then-"Oh."

"Yea." This time I was the one that turned my gaze to the window.

A/N: So. This chappie was short, but hopefully interesting. I've been trying to go for more 'realness' in the story. Full Metal Alchemist, no matter how you look at it, was never truly meant to be a book (manga doesn't count, I loved the manga too, but its not a book full of words), so it's a challenge figuring out how to create a story out of it without ruining the characters or the overall feeling of it all. It'll certainly be a challenge to describe Edward and Al's coolness moments in words in the upcoming chappies. (insert insane fan girl squeal here)


	5. The Red Petals

As we walked to the house in the setting sun, a blonde haired boy rushed out to meet us. Or rather, Ed.

"Brother!"

Edward's eyes note-ably softened, and a grin crossed his face. Obviously this boy was important to him. "Hey Al!" He cried, waving a hand high up in the air. The boy dashed up to Edward, and the two clapped their hands together as a way of greeting.

"Who's this, brother?" Al asked curiously, looking over at me.

"Oh, this is a friend of mine. Her name's Amy."

Al smiled at me, radiating a friendliness I wasn't used to.

"Hi! My name's Alphonse, but you can call me Al." He held out his hand. I took it.

"Umm…hi." I responded awkwardly. My sharp eyesight caught movement in the air. The next moment, Edward was doubled over, groaning and holding his head.

"Edward you're late for dinner!" An angry female voice shouted from the window.

"Damn it Winry! That hurt!"

The blonde haired girl looked down, spotting me with a curious expression not unlike Al's.

"Huh? Who's that?"

"My name's Amy."

"She can stay here, right?" Ed called up. Winry blinked at the unexpected question, and I felt embarrassment and the feeling of imposing heat up my face.

"It's alright if you can't-

"No need, dear. Any friend of Ed is a friend of ours. Whatever your reasoning, you're welcome to stay here for a few days." A new voice said unexpected next to me. I looked down to see an elder lady with her hair in a bun looking up at me.

"Thank you." I said, feeling awkward again. I hadn't really socialized this much in a while. I used to love being surrounded by friendly people-but now it just made me feel like I was in an uncomfortable spotlight.

"Hey granny, do you have any leftovers from dinner?"

The old lady scowled at Edward. "No, we do not. And why didn't you call ahead of time and tell us you were bringing a guest?"

He scratched his head, glancing over at me. "It was kinda a spur of the moment decision."

Granny smacked him upside the head, causing him to yell out. Alphonse smiled off-handedly, as though this was something normal. They certainly were a rather violent family.

The front door opened, and Winry stepped through. She was taller than me, and a short black tank top on and cargo pants. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and while she moved with the strength of an army girl, her eyes were soft. She gave Ed one last glare, which, hilariously, caused him to cower, before coming over to me and offering her hand, all smiles.

"Hi, I'm Winry! Nice to meet you-we don't usually get visitors around here. Where are you from?"

"Leor." I said without hesitation. It was where I had been born.

"Well, that's cool. You've certainly come a long way. How did you meet Edward?" her tone was friendly, and straight forward. I was beginning to like this girl.

"He saw me using Alchestry and we kinda started talking." I said, editing a little. Alphonse's eyes widened at the word 'alchehestry' and I saw him shoot a questioning glance to Edward.

"Sounds like him. He's always been into Alchemy." Winry continued easily.

I didn't bother to correct her-she was just too nice. She grabbed my hand. I looked down, startled at the contact.

"Come on, I'll show you around."

A few hours later, I lay comfortably on a leather sofa, reading an Alchemy book. The black dog 'Den' had taken a liking to me, and was sitting next to the sofa, his head resting on my stomach while I absent-mindedly petted him.

This Alchemy was interesting, as far as I had read. The books made it sound complicated, but it really wasn't. I had only known a little about it-I hadn't really ever sat down and read about it.

_"Eventually, you'll just become a huge, disgusting mass of shapeless flesh."_

No matter how much I read, it seemed that stupid lady's words kept ringing in my head. And although I hated to admit it, that statement scared me. I wanted to believe it wasn't true-surely it couldn't be. But there had been no lie to that lady's scent, though I wish there had been. And every single atom in my body rebelled against that idea-that I would be destroyed in that way before I even had a chance to live somewhat normally.

I set the alchemy book down on the table next to the sofa, sat up and rested my face in my hands. Den pushed his wet nose into my lap, whining. Thankful for the empathy, I petted him. The real reason I had picked up that book wasn't because I was interested in alchemy-I already had alchehestry. It was because Alchemy had been what had changed me. In reality, I had been trying to find a way out.

Then again-who knew if the memories I had were even real? Maybe I hadn't even existed before the lab-maybe they were fake memories. Maybe I didn't have a little sister, or a mother and father in Leor. Maybe I was like a hummunculus-the book had said they were born from a failed human transmutation. I certainly had a tattoo-right in between my shoulder blades. It went away when I transformed-usually covered by fur, feathers, or scales. But when I returned to this form, it returned as well.

No, I couldn't start thinking like that. I did have a family waiting for me in Leor. And I would return to them as soon as I figured this out. I groaned out loud as I realized what it meant. The only place I could find information on myself was at the hidden lab underneath Central.

Den, sensing my distress, practically jumped into my lap. I laughed as he licked my face. But the laughter was uneasy.

"Thanks Den. I knew you'd understand. I just wish….

The door to the book room opened. Alphonse came in, trailed by Edward. It had been like this since we had gotten here-they were glued at the hip.

"You've been reading about Alchemy?" Alphonse asked, sitting down next to me.

"Yea. It's pretty interesting."

"You know, brother told me about you and your powers."

"Al!" Edward protested. Alphonse ignored him.

"And I wanted you to know we know more about the old government than you probably think. If you ever-

"Old government?" The thought occurred to me. Edward's gaze was over-serious. Walls up again.

"Did something happen to Furor Bradley?" I stared at the brothers, letting them know clearly I wasn't going to come off the subject.

"Well yea-he died." Alphonse said, blinking. Edward kept a hawk eye on him, obviously ready to shush him should he say too much.

"That explains a lot." I muttered. And really, it did. It explained why suddenly all the experiments and chimeras were moved, and why we had suddenly been sold.

I felt Edward's piercing gaze on me. I met his with an equally piercing gaze. Turned to Al.

"What else do you guys know?" I asked.

"It's none of your business." Edward snapped. I glared at him. Oddly, a pang of hurt reverberated through my chest. Alphonse gave Edward a reproving look, which he obviously ignored.

"Fine, then. I'll figure out what I need to know on my own. It doesn't really concern you two anyways." I pushed Den off of me and left the room.

"Brother!" Alphonse scolded as I shut the door hard. I really shouldn't be reacting this way. The only explanation for it was that I had let my guard down too far.

_You aren't like these people. _I reminded myself angrily. _You will never fit in with them._

I headed upstairs, letting my hand drift with me along the wooden railing. Turning left, I opened the door to the guest room. While some part of me had been hoping I could ask the Elric brothers to come along on my insane mission, I realized now that it had been a stupid idea.

It would be best to strike as soon as possible-when the 'researchers' were least expecting it. They wouldn't expect me to return immediately after I had left. It would be stupid, however, to charge in without a clue where to look. And though I hated her, my old caretaker would have to be the first person to go to. She, at least, would know where my medication was. I would steal that or find out how to make it, in order to give myself more time to find a way out of this mess. Maybe I could find a way to be normal again. But what form? Surely I would sneak in as an insect, but if things got bad-what form would deflect those pesky tranquilizers? I had no desire to be kenneled again.

Night time would be stupid-that would be when most of the workers were there. They had to work in secret-after all, what they were doing wouldn't exactly be loved by the public. So broad daylight then. Which would mean I'd have to leave…tomorrow morning would be best. A lump formed in my throat at the idea of leaving. How silly-what did I expect? To stay here? I would put everyone in danger, staying in one place. Besides that, there's no way I would be accepted here. Staying would only prove to set me emotionally attached. I got into bed, not bothering to transmute pajamas. I covered up, resting my head on the pillow, trying to clear my mind and sleep.

...

"Brother, you weren't being very nice." Alphonse scolded. Edward stretched out on the couch.

"Give me a break. I don't need to be nice. What we know is none of her business."

"Wouldn't it be better to tell her what we know, and then she'll tell us what she knows? If she has the abilities you say she does, and she escaped, that means that there are still lives being destroyed by alchemy." Alphonse's eyes cast upon his brother with a fierceness not unlike his brother's usual expression.

"So what? Leave that stuff to the military. It no longer concerns us." Edward said off-handedly, not meeting his brother's eyes. Al understood. Edward didn't want to go back into that world. They had seen so much death, pain and suffering, and had finally gotten away from it all. But still.

"Brother, wasn't it you that said that the world is bigger than just us? That we have to expand our horizon?"

Edward still refused to meet Al's eyes.

"She has to be scared, brother. Coming out of a place like that. And then being told she couldn't live long away from it. Have you forgotten the chimeras that were slaughtered? There has to be more of them down there, just waiting for help."

Edward turned away towards the back of the couch. Al's hands curled into fists.

"Fine then. You might choose to ignore reality, brother, but I won't. I'm going to do what it takes to help Amy."

The door to the study slammed as Alphonse stormed out. But Alphonse knew, that his older brother wouldn't let him go into a dangerous situation alone. He walked up the stairs to their room. Tomorrow, he would get Amy to tell him more. Then, they would go from there.

...

My eyes flicked open. I was well rested-thanks to sleeping in a soft bed. I sat up, stretching my arms up and letting out a yawn. Glancing out the window, I found the sun just beginning to rise-the striking orange rays just piercing the dark blue sky. No time to waste-I didn't know whether or not this household had early-birds. I grabbed my hoodie from its place on the bedpost and shrugged into it. The door opened with a strikingly loud squeak to my ears. But listening, I heard the rooms near mine were filled with soft, rhythmic breathing. And snores. I bet the snoring was Edward. I tip-toed out of the room, hugging the edge of the stairs as I climbed down, so as to not cause creaking. Finding the bottom of the steps, I headed into the kitchen, feeling somewhat guilty as I grabbed a piece of bread off of one of the counter-tops. It would be my breakfast.

Taking one last look at the cozy kitchen, I headed out the side door. The smells, sights, and sounds of the early morning greeted me, the cool air welcoming on my skin. I refused to look back as I moved forward, breaking into a run away from the Rockbells house.


	6. The Rose Bleeds

I leaned against the wall of second library branch, panting heavily. My skin felt like it was on fire. The gusts of warm air stung my skin as though my entire body was one gaping paper-cut. Forcing myself to go through three forms-five technically, since I returned to my original form after each, had taken a desperate toll on my body. The first three changes went well-I had gone from a hawk to my human form to favor a faster mode of transport as a falcon. But when I returned to my human form a little ways from Central, that blinding agony had returned. Every change was met with unbearable pain-even the hair growing out of a forming scalp had left me screaming. I of course, had to change into a different person before entering Central. I thought it wouldn't hurt, seeing as it was just going from one human form to another, but it had felt like my skin was boiling. I had had to transmute a mirror to see what uncontrollable changes my body had made for me. It hadn't been pretty, which had forced me to excruciatingly change every little detail, one at a time.

My skin had not stopped stinging. I felt nauseated. I dropped to the ground heavily, my now blonde hair plastered to my face. I wondered if this was what my old caretaker had mentioned.

"Damn her." I growled. But I was too sick to be angry, or even scared that this was happening to me. I did not want to face the fact I would have to somehow undergo at least two more changes to sneak in to get the medicine.

My vision blurred. Damn it, I was so cold. Surely I could rest for just a little while. I closed my eyes. Something wet stung my cheeks-I was crying. That realization was the last I had before the dizziness overtook me. I didn't fall asleep-I blacked out.

I woke up to wonderful, wonderful health. The pain was gone, as was the sickening cold, and the dizziness. I sighed, aware I smelled horrible. My hair-blonde? Oh right. My blonde hair was plastered against my shoulders, my clothes sticking to my body from a cold sweat. My vision sharpened, and I swore. The full moon held high in the sky. I had slept through the entire day. I stood up. My legs wobbled, and I had to rest a fore-arm against the bricks to keep from falling. I took a few deep breaths and steadied myself.

My throat was parched beyond parched. A desert had more moisture. And my stomach was complaining loudly.

I sighed, resigned to the stars and the moon. I would have to wait until tomorrow to raid the laboratory. But…I would be able to search for it, at least. Central was huge-it would be hard to find a secret entrance to a laboratory. Faintly, I wished I had indeed brought the Elrics-surely they'd know their way around better than I. But for now…I clapped my hands together, slapping them onto the ground. A spout appeared, and I twisted the nozzle to bring myself fresh water. I cupped my hands, catching the water in them and drinking. I found myself unable to stop drinking the water for at least a few minutes.

When I was through, I clapped my hands and touched the spout again, and it grew into a makeshift shower. I rinsed myself (fully clothed, of course), unable to take the horrid smell of sweat.

_"Amy! Come on slow poke!" Rachel called to me, her blonde hair tossing in the wind as she trotted away on her grey pony. I grinned. _

_"_ _I'll show you slow poke, you runt!" I shot back, but my tone was teasing. I loosened the reins in my hands, and asked Mirka into a gallop. I stuck my tongue out at my little sister as I passed. _

_"Ha! Who's the slow-poke now?" I taunted, shouting over my shoulder. The wind roared in my ears, and Mirka let out a buck, unable to contain herself. It only made me laugh harder. _

_"Better watch out sis, Tai and I are going to catch up to you!" A shout from behind me. I glanced back and saw that Rachel was indeed catching up. Both her and her horse's expressions mirrored each other-utmost determination. _

_"Yikes! Mirka, we better get going!" I laughed. The mare flicked an ear back to me, and on my signal, stretched out further, her hooves flying faster. _

_"Hey! No fair!" Rachel cried as we pulled away, faster and faster. I sank into the saddle as we reached the end of the field, Mirka coming to an immediate stop without me having to touch the reins. We turned around to see Rachel and Tai coming up behind us. They stopped, both pony and human glaring at me. _

_"You only won because Mirka has longer legs." Rachel pouted. I grinned._

_"Whatever you say, Rach."_

I smiled at the unexpected memory. Re-motivated, I focused, biting my lip. Without pain, thankfully, hair turned red and grew long. The curves became less noticeable. I slid into my original form with ease. I focused once again, bracing for the pain. It didn't come. Black fur rippled painlessly up my legs to cover my body. My hips re-arranged themselves, and I fell to the ground on all fours as my hands and feet turned into paws. My nose and mouth grew into a long dog muzzle, and my ears slid up the sides of my head, becoming pointed. A long, black bushy tail sprouted out behind me, pulling disturbingly on my spine. The change complete-I was a jet black husky, easily mistaken for a wolf. Black to hide in the shadows in the night.

Alright then. Time to get down to business.

...

"Damn it! What do you mean she's not here?" Edward snapped earlier that morning.

"This is all your fault, brother! You're the one that made her angry enough to leave!" Alphonse growled back.

"It's not my fault she's an oversensitive brat!"

"Brother that's enough! If you had gone and apologized, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Hey..guys? ITS TOO DAMN EARLY IN THE MORNING TO BE SHOUTING!" Winry snarled, wrenches appearing out of seemingly no where and hitting both boys on the head.

"Winry, Amy's gone!" Alphonse reported.

Winry blinked.

"What?"

"She's gone and abandoned us." Edward said matter of factly.

"She didn't go and abandon us! You drove her away!" Alphonse snapped. Edward glared.

"I did not drive her away! She left because she didn't want to be here!"

"Yea? Did she TELL you that? Because as far as I know the last time we saw her was-

"Will both of you boys SHUT UP!"

Nervously, the boys turned towards a raging Winry.

"Edward, since it's your fault she left, it's your job to go find her and bring her back!"

"Damn it! It's not my fault! Why do you always listen to Alphonse?"

"Because Al is more mature than you are, Ed!" Winry snapped. Edward blinked.

"Wha-

"Now go find her!" Winry snapped, shoving Ed towards the door.

"How the hell am I supposed to find her? She could be any animal she wants to be!"

Both Al and Winry glared.

"Well then I guess you're just going to have to figure it out." Winry snapped. She turned her glare towards Al. Al visibly tensed.

"You go too, Al!"

Al sucked in a breath. "Yes ma'am!" he responded nervously, positively running out the door.

"And both of you!"

The boys tensed, turning towards her with pale faces.

"Be back in time for dinner!"

The door slammed shut behind them.

"Brother, she's scary." Alphonse noted.

"Yes, she is." Edward agreed. They both started off down the road.

"Brother? Where do you think she's gone to?"

Edward looked over at Al.

"Our best bet would be Central."

...

The sun once again shone its light in the sky. It had taken all night, but I had found it. The scent was too familiar to miss. My dog body was exhausted, and hunger plagued my stomach more than ever. But I had found the area. I slipped into my own form, leaning against the building, exhausted. An alchemist had reconstructed the side of the wall-but the scent had tipped me off. I focused, and shed a layer of fur off of the dog tail that was left behind from my last change. I grabbed the fur and tucked some into my shorts pockets and my hoodie pockets. I clapped my hands together, and touched my clothes. The color black spread all across my clothing, taken from the fur. Now wearing pitch black clothing, I brought the hood up and covered my head.

Deciding to be smart, I transmuted the wall next to the door, creating a hole just big enough to crawl through. Warily, I stepped in. Immediately, the scents of the lab chemicals I had so hoped to escape enveloped me again. Reluctantly, I sealed the hole off, leaving a small dot in the wall so I knew where to escape to. I clapped my hands together once more and placed them on the wall to my right. It retracted, revealing lit stairs. I sealed that wall too when I stepped through onto the steps, feeling more and more claustrophobic. But I had to find out more-about what I had become. And this was the only place to do it. Warily and feeling very much alone, I followed the steps down, doing my best to muffle any sound I made. The descent took seemingly forever, with my own fear filling my nose the further along I went. I wanted nothing more than to turn around and bolt away, the memories of pain and entrapment running themselves over and over in my head, giving me reasons to leave. Almost crippling my ability to move forward. But then I came upon the bottom of the steps, and I knew it was too late to turn back. I focused. On _her. _Disgustingly.

The first thing that changed was my height. I shot up to almost six feet tall, my hair turning platinum blonde. My hips grew wider, my curves became more obvious. I clapped my hands together and touched my clothes, changing them to grow bigger as I grew. My facial structure changed, my jaw-line becoming wider, more prominent. My nose became more petite. My lips grew flatter, and my teeth changed shape.

I could barely hide my disgust. I was that wretched woman. No, I just looked like her. An exact copy in body, not soul and mind. If I even had a soul anymore. I clapped my hands together once more, changing my clothing to look like lab clothes. I held my head arrogantly high as she would, and opened the door, stepping in with a sweeping stride. The lights blinded me for a moment. The long, winding hallway I remembered running down as a cheetah stretched out before me. I knew my way from here. I pulled my shoulders back and strode down the hallway, ignoring the security camera. . Wait…

I looked down, and saw my feet were still bare. Deciding to fix the problem, I clapped my hands together and touched the floor, creating shoes out of the components. They were a bit stiff and scratchy as I slid my feet into them, but they worked. I continued my stroll down the hallway, taking a left the first chance I got. So far, so good.

The second door on the right stared at me. The door was of course, encrypted with a keyboard pad for a key. No matter. I touched my palms together softly, and reached for the doorknob. It groaned, and then a soft pop sounded. The doorknob turned smoothly in my fingers. Once again, more stairs. And the smell of chemicals permeated the air putridly.

I closed the door behind me softly, and began my way down the stairs. My new long legs were hard to get used to, I noted. The stairs twisted sharply to the left unexpectedly, and I nearly fell. Should have remembered that, I thought wryly, a little humor finally breaking through my nervous brain.

I came upon a seemingly dead end. But I knew better. One wall led to the cages. Another wall led to the experimental building-the place they took us to perform their horrible experiments on us. Another led to the research materials. I turned to the right, clapping my hands together and placing them on the wall. It fell away, illuminating a brightly lit, open two story room. I walked in, and the wall automatically closed itself behind me. It was cheerily enough built. It looked the same as any other library, with bookcases everywhere, desks scattered throughout, and a staircase leading up to a second floor. The place was eerily quiet. Every warning bell in my head was ringing, but I ignored them. I went to the nearest bookcase and scanned the shelves. It seemed to be arranged according to the kind of alchemic research-this bookcase alone held papers and files about water and fire alchemic research. A door caught my eye on the left wall. I walked over to it, stepping up a couple of steps before turning the handle. It was dark.

I stepped inside, reaching to turn on a light. The door slammed shut behind me unexpectedly, and the lights flickered on. Shock swept over me as the light lit up a classroom sized area. But that wasn't what drew my attention. In the center of the room, a blonde girl stared up at me from the bars of a cage. Happiness, unbelieving happiness, leapt to my throat when I recognized her. But then, horror. Horror swept into me. I had made a terrible mistake. And now I realized why there hadn't been any guards or anyone to stop me from coming this far.

"We've been waiting for you, two-four six." The real Sarah Daniels stepped out from behind me. I was trapped.

A/N Hooray for cliffies! :) I'm having a lot of fun with this story. :) Lots of plans for this one. :) It took me a while, but I finally found a way to separate diferent sections effectively. :) Hope you guys liked the new chapters!


	7. Thorny Branch

"I see, so you've been waiting for me, have you? Well gee, I'm flattered." I said. Blonde hair turned to red waves. My height diminished. As I changed, I put my hands behind my back, touching palms and then clothes, making it seem as though I morphed into my clothes as well. Sarah's eyes widened, but she said nothing. A small gasp from the cage.

"Amy?"

I glanced back at her.

"Hang in there Rach. I promise I'll get you out of this situation somehow."

Rachel looked up at me through frightened eyes, but nodded.

Sarah laughed. I turned, glaring at her.

"You are in no position to be making promises, two-four-six. Now, I have a preposition for you."

I grinned, crossing my arms and cocking a leg. "Really? Amuse me."

My laid back appearance had the desired effect. She looked at me suspiciously, thrown back a bit.

"You come back. Crawl back into your cage like a good, obedient little experiment. Or-

Her gaze turned to Rachel, a smirk on her face. I resisted the urge to glare and grow fangs to attempt to scare the shit out of her. I tapped my foot, rolling my eyes for added effect.

"Come on, old lady. Or what? I don't have all day."

The corners of her eyes squeezed, her brows furrowing. Through tightly pursed lips, she answered.

"Or your dear Rachel will replace you."

…

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Edward said to Al as they got off of the train to Central. Al's expression was hard.

"What is it?"

No answer. Then-"Brother, I'm going to go get Mustang."

"Why the HELL are you getting THAT bastard? We can handle this fine on our own!" Edward erupted, throwing his arms in the air, adding dramatic effect. Al's expression wasn't deterred-he was obviously prepared for this reaction.

"It's the new Fuhur's business if the experiments that he banned are still going on underneath his city. Besides, we want to free as many as possible, right?"

"Al, we don't even know if we're right, and if they're even in central."

Al bent down, clapping his hands. He slapped the ground, and immediately, a line drew itself across the concrete. Edward looked on questioningly as the line drew itself a way out of the train station.

"Wha-

"While I was doing some research, I found out that experiments that occurred using the philosophers stone actually attracts the kind of energy Alchemy uses. This technique doesn't work well if the research is farther than fifteen miles away."

"Smart planning Al!" Ed said with pride. Al scratched his head, grinning sheepishly at the praise. Then he remembered, and he met his older brother's gaze with steel-like eyes.

"I'm going to go get Mustang."

Ed paused, and then sighed in defeat. He waved it off, changing direction and walking off in the direction towards Central's military headquarters. "Alright, I guess it can't be helped."

Al grinned, jogging to catch up with his brother.

…

I leaned against the bars of the cage as they shut the door in front of me. I stared at the wristband labeling me two-four-six, a part of me in disbelief that I had just let myself be caught.

"So, you're back after all."

I didn't respond. The chimera next to me wasn't exactly the most pleasant creature to talk to.

I wasn't stupid. I was well aware that they weren't going to let Rachel go. They had tried for decades to create a creature like me. Passing up a chance to experiment on a direct relative? Not likely for those wackos. However….I had a secret weapon-alchehestry. I had always made sure that they didn't know I could use it, for just a situation like this. I had even escaped before using nothing but my transformation abilities. But obviously, they wouldn't make that mistake this time. They wouldn't let the door have cracks big enough for a flea to slip through. I would have to use Alchehesty. Which meant this would be my absolute last chance. I couldn't come back and expect to make it out again after this.

I would have to be quick. A part of me tried to figure out some way to still find the chemicals I needed. But there was no way, and right now, my sister's escape was more important. No matter what happened, she had to escape. I would _not _let her be a part of this. I stared down at the gruel they had left me in the corner of the cage. Yes, it had the chemicals I needed in it-I could smell them. But it also had tranquilizers in it. And I had to escape.

I grabbed it and went over to the farthest corner of my cage. Clapped my hands together, and touched it to turn the bowl into a different shape. I stuck the now rectangle bowl in between the bars, giving it to the hungry chimera.

"Here, take it. I'm not hungry. Just give me the bowl back when you're done."

I settled down and dozed, making sure I was awake enough to realize if they tried to experiment on me in my sleep again.

…

I opened my eyes, re-charged. I looked up at the clock, glowing softly in the dark room full of experiments. It was 6:00pm. Now was as good a time as ever. I listened carefully. Heard the slow breathing of someone outside. I couldn't smell anything besides the stink of the experiments beside me, so I would have to rely on my other senses. But I had Rachel's scent permanently imprinted in my mind. That's all that mattered. I touched my palms together, and then against the bars of the cage, changing their substance. I bent them easily, soundlessly. I looked around nervously as I stepped outside the cage, making sure none of the chimeras could see me.

"Oi. Take me with you."

I turned, looking at the bird-human chimera that had spoken. His arms, solidified with wings, folded over his knees, which were pulled up and tucked under his chin.

"I don't have time." I snapped quietly. His red, too-round eyes stared at me.

"Do it, or I'll make a ruckus."

Sighing, I touched my palms together quietly, and did the same thing to his cage that I did mine. Standing, he was a head shorter than me. His frame was thin and bony. He had black feathers that followed his spine. Black tail feathers poked out of the bottom of his shirt, growing to nearly the full size of his legs.

"Alright. But don't make a sound, and if you double cross me, I _will _kill you before you get a chance to get out of here." I growled softly, causing my teeth to turn into fangs to add the desired effect. He wasn't deterred. Instead, he flapped up to one corner of the room. A camera. I paled. He turned the camera so it was facing the other corner of cages. Well, time to go. Abandoning caution, I clapped my hands together, touched the door. It crumbled, revealing a surprised guy with a tranquilizer gun. The bird chimera grabbed him by the throat and squeezed. The man's neck let out a crack as it broke, and he slumped to the ground. I tried not to wince. Obviously, this chimera had no issues with killing.

Now out of the room, I could smell Rachel clearly. I took off in that direction.

"Hey! Where you going?"

I winced.

"Keep it down!" I hissed. The chimera looked up at me questioningly. I was going to regret this.

"You can fly, can't you?" I whispered. He nodded. I clapped my hands together, my legs pushing me up like a spring. I touched the ceiling, and created a tunnel up to the open. The sky shone clearly in a very small dot.

"Go!" I growled, landing, grabbing him by his legs, and throwing him up it with force-he was a lot lighter than I expected. Thirty pounds, maybe. I jumped up again and covered the escape route with my alchehestry once again. Turned towards the wall where Rachel's scent was. I could smell different humans in there, fully loaded with tranquilizers. I could hear their breathing, and how they paced around. Anger took away my reason. I was going to scare the shit out of them for dragging her into this. Black scales rippled up body. My dog tail turned scaley and grew long and lizard like. Spines erupted from my spine. My hips re-arranged themselves, my toes splitting and forming things that were a cross between claws and talons. My shoulder broadened, powerful muscles rippling into my system. My neck grew long, my nose and mouth pulling together to form a muzzle. My teeth tickled, growing sharp. Canines poked out of my upper lip. My vision grew sharper than that of even an eagle's. And finally, my back began to bulge. Wings snapped from the sides, black, webbed like a bat's. I was barely able to fit in the large hallway. I was an impossible creature. A dragon. With everything but the fire-breath. I couldn't figure out how to morph that. But I was pretty certain this would do the trick. I let out a low, earth rumbling growl. The pacing paused, and I could smell their fear. I bashed my horned head into the wall.

"Wha-Oh my god!"

I could have laughed at their pale faces. I growled, turning my gaze to them. One of them collapsed. I blinked. Hopefully I hadn't given him a heart attack. The others scattered like bats out of hell. I spotted the cage in the corner, along with Rachel's scent. There, _she _stood, holding out a tranquilizer gun at me.

"That's as far as you go, two-four-six."

I took the time to focus, hardening my scales until they were nearly bone-like material. Pushed my way through the wall-the wall crumbled like wet paper. Made my way to her. Rachel was huddled as far away from me as she could get in the cage.

I glowered at Sarah. My former caretaker looked up at me, trying her best to appear like she was brave. But she couldn't fool me-her scent was laced with fear. I tried to squash the horrified part of me down-I didn't have time to tell myself what a monster I had become. Oh, but I hated her. I could feel that emotion, black and welling. The dragon's predator instincts reacted, urging me to kill. But I wouldn't. I reached out with a forepaw and ripped the tranquilizer gun from her grasp.

"Go." I rasped out. Sarah looked up at me. Now that her 'weapon' was gone, her confidence was as well. Her shoulders were tense, and her knees were shaking.

"Run away, before I change my mind."

She didn't need to be told twice. She bolted out the side of me.

"Rachel."

My voice was raspy. I could barely make the sounds out with my snake like tongue. The little girl-my little sister, cowered in the cage. The horrified feeling grew.

"Rachel. Don't be afraid. It's me, Amy."

I changed, losing my shape. I shrank dramatically. My clothes came back into view. My red hair sprouted from a still scaled scalp. It took only a few seconds-perhaps I was getting better at changing. Something wet slid down my cheeks. I brought a finger up. Tears.

I fought against those feeling. Those feelings of disgust, fear, and anger that threatened to swallow me. I clapped my hands together, and then touched the cage. The cage disintegrated into dust. I held out a hand, praying she'd take it.

"Please, Rachel."

She looked up at me through fearful blue green eyes that mirrored mine. After what seemed an eternity, she launched herself at me. I wrapped my arms around her. Her body shook, but she did not cry. I understood.

"Come on-let's get out of here."

"Amy-you still have wings." Her voice was disbelieving.

"I'm quite aware of that, blondie."

Unexpectedly, she started laughing. Relief swept through me, swinging me into a laugh too. It was a while before we composed ourselves.

Something poked itself into my back. As I began to drift, I realized what it was.

"No…" feebly, I clapped my hands together, touching the ground. A tunnel forged itself. I felt further, feeling the energy start to slip. I created stairs-a way out for her.

My knees collapsed under me.

"Rachel-go."

"What?"

"Quick. Go." I rasped. The strength was fading from my arms. She saw the tunnel, and with my feeble push, went into it.

"Follow the tunnel. You'll have to feel your way out. Then I want you to hitch a ride on a train. Leave." Weakly, I clapped my hands. Closed it behind her. I knew she didn't like the dark-but there was no choice.

I fell on my stomach.

"Damn it." I cursed as the tranquilizer put me under.

A/N: couldn't wait any longer! LOL I love writing this story. :)


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